Last month, CATSA's President and CEO, Mr. Jacques Duchesneau, travelled to France and Germany to meet with members of international security and law enforcement organizations such as l'Institut des Hautes Études de la Sécurité Intérieure and the largest police organization in the world, Interpol.  
Mr. Duchesneau's itinerary in Germany included a visit to Frankfurt and Nuremberg Airports.

CATSA's Director of Equipment Implementation and Maintenance, Mr. Martin Corrigan, and Director of Law Enforcement and Security Liaison, Mr. Jacques Grilli, accompanied Mr. Duchesneau on his trip.

Back at CATSA's Headquarters,
Mr. Duchesneau sat down with CATSA NEWS for an interview on his trip abroad.

CN: Mr. Duchesneau, what was the objective of this trip?

JD: The objective of this trip was for CATSA to build  bridges with key intelligence security agencies abroad.

CN: How important are international relations to CATSA?

JD: International relations are capital to CATSA. They're capital because of the learning process they provide. We need to learn from other countries. Learning is part of our mandate.

CN: Why did you choose to visit these specific countries?

Mr. Duchesneau with Mr. Jean Michel Louboutin, Interpol's Director of the Operational Police Support Directorate.


Interpol's Secretary General Ronald K. Noble presents Mr. Duchesneau with a silver tray in honour of his visit.

The PBS checkpoint at Nuremberg Airport.

JD: We chose France because it has gone through periods of terrorism and has been dealing with this problem for some time.

As for Germany, it has two of the most interesting airports. One is Frankfurt Airport which handles more than 49 million passengers a year and has a great multi-faceted security system and airport policing.

The other is one of Germany's smaller airports, Nuremberg Airport, where there is great focus on customer service. Being the leader of an organization where the pre-board screening training program is based on customer service, I was interested to see how customer service was handled at Nuremberg Airport.

CN: What would you consider the highlights of your trip?

JD: The highlights of our trip included our visit to the makers of the new generation of equipment that we are using in Canada. It is a marvel to visit the production house of such state-of-the-art equipment.

CN: What did you learn most from this trip?

 JD: We learned how other jurisdictions deal with the challenges of providing professional and efficient air transport security services. Interestingly, we also learned that we're already doing a very good job in Canada. This trip confirmed to me that our security system is an excellent one and one we continue to enhance.

CN: Now that you're more familiar with two European security systems, how does Canada compare?

JD: I think this trip has instilled in us a pretty healthy level of comfort, enough to indicate to us that we're doing a good job but that we should always be working on improvements. The best way to enhance our security system is to be informed about what's happening in the rest of the world.  That's what this trip was all about.

CN: Thank you Mr. Duchesneau.

JD: My pleasure.

CATSA welcomes its new Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, Michael J. McLaughlin, to its Headquarters.

Prior to joining CATSA, Mr. McLaughlin held the position of President at CCAF-FCVI (formerly the Canadian Comprehensive Auditing Foundation), a not for profit organization dedicated to research into public sector issues of Accountability, Governance, Comptrollership, Public Reporting and Audit.

Mr. McLaughlin held the position of Deputy Auditor General of Canada from 1997 to 2002, where

CATSA's Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer Michael J. McLaughlin.

he was the Senior Financial Officer and responsible for the overall management of the Office of the Auditor General.

M. McLaughlin s'est joint à l'ACSTA le 1^er avril 2003.

From April 28^th to the 30^th, CATSA's Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Mark Duncan, attended a meeting of the Northern Air Transport Association (NATA), the association representing air carriers and airports in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

According to Mr. Duncan, the Authority's participation in the NATA meetings in Yellowknife helps CATSA better understand the unique challenges faced by NATA members. CATSA provides screening services at major airports in the northern region.

"Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit airports are the major screening points in the North.  The airports receive a variety of aircraft and deal with situations that may not necessarily occur at airports down south. So it's great to see how PBS officers and airport personnel deal with these situations," says
Mr. Duncan.

During his stay in Yellowknife, Mr. Duncan presented an update of CATSA's training program and the deployment activities of the Explosives Detection Systems (EDS).

The PBS checkpoint at Yellowknife International Airport.


From left to right: Point Leaders Sharon Carpenter and Rosalie Smith, PBS officer Sean Dalton  and Transport Canada Regional Manager of Security Operations Ken Yuel.

"CATSA is proud to be able to serve the North and is working in partnership with Transport Canada, airports, and air carriers to meet the service requirements of the airports and air carriers covering Canada's northern region," says Mr. Duncan.

When an 11-year old Jacquie Williams Hamilton first landed at the London International Airport more than thirty years ago, even a child's overactive imagination could not erase the vivid memories of her homeland in Guyana.

Today, Jacquie says she feels fortunate to be where she is today; and that much of her good fortune is owed to the place where she had her first real taste of Canada.

PBS Supervisor Jacquie Williams Hamilton.

A PBS supervisor at the London International Airport, Jacquie says working at the airport's checkpoint is nothing short of a dream.

"Being at the airport my first day in Canada helped me remember why I was here. Although I was leaving a lot behind, there was another world out there that my family and I wanted to be part of.  That's how airports make me feel. They're healing. You meet people travelling from one end of the world to the other. It's a great atmosphere and I knew then I wanted to be part of it," she says.

Years later, when a friend informed Jacquie that the screening providers for the London International Airport were hiring, she applied and was hired as a PBS officer.

"Who would have thought that years later, I would find myself where it all started, where I made my first wish of becoming what I am today," she says.

Today, Jacquie believes one of her major responsibilities as a PBS supervisor is to transfer her feelings of pride and commitment towards her work to every member of her team.

"Pre-board screening is a job with many responsibilities. A PBS officer is responsible for the well-being of travellers. It's a great service that every PBS officer should feel honoured to be chosen to do," she says.

According to Jacquie, some of her responsibilities have been made easier since CATSA's takeover of PBS last December.

"PBS changed dramatically since CATSA's takeover. CATSA has developed a new training program and deployed new screening equipment at checkpoints across the country. CATSA showed PBS officers that PBS is a priority. The morale of the screening officers is now much better and in return customer service has improved," she says.

According to Jacquie, a prime example of CATSA's commitment to PBS officers is CATSA's President and CEO's recent visit to the London International Airport last month.

"Mr. Duchesneau's visit showed PBS officers there is a face behind CATSA, an approachable face they can relate to.  My staff is still talking about
Mr. Duchesneau's visit today. Even though he was here on official business, he made it seem he was here for us. He shook hands with every PBS officer and was accessible to all of us," she says.

In his Ottawa office at CATSA Headquarters, Mr. Duchesneau says he wouldn't have it any other way and confirms there are many similar visits to come at different airports across the country.

"My goal is to visit all 89 major airports across the country. The purpose of these visits will be to meet the screening officers and airport managers and get their feedback on what CATSA is doing and how we can improve," says Mr. Duchesneau.

When asked about his trip to the London International Airport,
Mr. Duchesneau expressed his fondness towards the PBS officers.

"I love the fact that PBS officers always have something to say. It shows interest and dedication towards their job. The main feedback I received when I was there was how proud they are to be PBS officers. They feel important and well supported by their employer and by CATSA," he says.

According to Jacquie, CATSA provides more than support to PBS officers. It provides public recognition.

"Passengers are becoming more aware of CATSA's responsibilities and along with awareness comes the acknowledgement of PBS officers and the value of their work. Passengers are now more appreciative of what we do and they show it," she says.

Efforts made by PBS officers were appreciated more than ever this year during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak. Through it all, PBS officers across the country showed commitment to their jobs and to the air security industry.

Mr. Duchesneau, who addressed PBS officers on this subject in last month's CATSA NEWS stresses once again CATSA's commitment to PBS officers throughout this hardship.

"We continue to monitor the situation with Health Canada and our service providers on a daily basis. We appreciate everyone's efforts during this period," he says.

In times of difficulty, Jacquie advises PBS officers to concentrate on their tasks and remain positive at all times; the same advice that was passed on to her years ago.

"My grandmother always used to tell me that every time I leave home, I should always hold my head up high since I am representing my family.  I remember these words every day while at work. A PBS officer is the face representing Canada's air industry. We represent a leading air security system and have much to be proud of. But with excellence comes expectation and great responsibility. We must always carry out our responsibilities with great commitment and integrity."